Uninsured Motorist Coverage in Mississippi, Explained
Uninsured Motorist Coverage in Mississippi: The Protection Too Many Families Skip
I want you to picture an ordinary Tuesday evening. You're driving home from work, you've got a green light, and a driver on the cross street doesn't stop. The wreck isn't your fault. Your car is totaled, your back is wrenched, and you're looking at an ER visit, imaging, and weeks of treatment.
To compound the misery of this situation, you learn the driver who hit you has no insurance. Not low limits. None. In most states, that's bad luck. In Mississippi, it's closer to a coin you flip every time you leave the driveway. Unfortunately, most Mississippians are not aware of this risk.
How common are uninsured drivers in Mississippi?
More common here than anywhere else in America. According to the Insurance Research Council's most recent study, 28.2% of Mississippi drivers were uninsured in 2023. This is the highest rate of any state in the country. The national average is about one in seven. Ours is more than one in four.
Let that sink in the next time you're sitting in traffic on Lakeland Drive or I-55. Count four cars. Statistically, one of them has nothing.
That's the single stat that should drive every insurance decision a Mississippi family makes, and it's the reason this state's drivers need uninsured motorist coverage more than almost anyone in the country.
What is uninsured motorist coverage?
Uninsured motorist coverage (commonly referred to as UM coverage in insurance shorthand) is the part of your own auto policy that protects you when the at-fault driver can't. If a driver with no insurance injures you, your UM coverage steps in to pay what their liability insurance should have paid: medical bills, lost wages, and the other losses that follow a serious wreck.
It does more than most people realize. Here are a few examples:
- It covers hit-and-run wrecks. A driver who flees the scene doesn't leave an insurance card behind. If they're never identified, your UM coverage is what responds.
- It covers underinsured drivers too. In Mississippi, the definition of an "uninsured" vehicle includes underinsured vehicles. What this means is that if the at-fault driver’s liability limits are lower than your own UM limits, your coverage can step in above what their policy pays. A driver carrying state-minimum limits can total more than that in medical bills in a single ambulance ride and hospital visit.
- It follows you, not just your car. UM coverage generally protects you as a passenger in someone else's vehicle and even as a pedestrian struck by an uninsured driver.
Does Mississippi require uninsured motorist coverage?
Here's the part of the law worth knowing. Under Mississippi's uninsured motorist statute (Miss. Code Ann. § 83-11-101), UM coverage must be included in every auto liability policy issued in this state unless the named insured rejects it in writing.
Read that again: it's automatic unless you signed it away. If you've never rejected UM coverage in writing, you should have it. The default minimum tracks Mississippi's liability minimums, which are $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury.
In the cases I handle, here's where this actually goes wrong. Somewhere along the way (often years ago, at a kitchen table, trying to shave a few dollars off a premium) somebody signed a rejection form and forgot about it. Nobody remembers doing it until after the wreck, when the adjuster points to a signature from 2014. The savings were a few dollars a month. The cost shows up all at once.
What does "stacking" mean in Mississippi?
Mississippi allows something many states don't: stacking. If you have UM coverage on multiple vehicles, those limits can generally be combined (this is called “stacked”) into a single larger pool of coverage.
A simple example: a family with $25,000 in UM coverage on each of three vehicles may have $75,000 available when one family member is seriously hurt by an uninsured driver. That's a meaningful difference, and it's a distinctly Mississippi advantage that plenty of policyholders don't know they have.
What should you actually do?
You don't need a lawyer for this part. You need five minutes and your declarations page. You’re probably asking yourself “Ronnie, what’s the declarations page?” This is the summary sheet at the front of your policy. This is a summary of your various coverages and the amount of coverage, in a dollar amount, for each coverage.
First, find the uninsured motorist line and confirm it doesn't say "rejected." Second, look at the limits. If they're the $25,000/$50,000 minimum, ask yourself whether that number would realistically cover you. To answer this question, consider a hospitalization, surgery, and months out of work. This is not intended as a gloom-and-doom scenario. It is one that we see regularly, so that hard question is worth asking. Third, ask your agent what raising your UM limits to match your liability limits would cost. Most people are surprised how affordable it is. UM coverage is typically one of the cheapest lines on the policy relative to what it does. If you didn’t go through an agent to purchase your insurance and it was bought directly from the insurance company, contact them and ask them how much this would cost. Finally, if you have multiple vehicles, ask how stacking works on your policy. These are questions that your agent or the insurance company can quickly answer for you.
In a state where more than one in four drivers has no insurance, UM coverage isn't an extra. It's the coverage most likely to be the one that actually protects your own family. The importance of this type of coverage, particularly for Mississippi drivers, cannot be stressed enough.
If you’re taking the time to read this, you’re either in this situation or you have real questions, and I’m happy to talk with you about it, no charge. Our number is (769) 208-5683. Feel free to reach out.
This article is provided for general educational purposes only and is not legal advice about any specific situation. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship with The Stutzman Law Firm, PLLC. If you have questions about a specific accident or insurance dispute, consult a licensed Mississippi attorney about your particular circumstances.
